Chapter Three - part six

    James didn't sleep soundly, but he did sleep. The next morning, a few minutes ahead of schedule, he and Jeremy were waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the girls. It was a few minutes after the agreed time before the girls showed up. Neither of the boys said a word though. They had learned that lesson when they started dating, which was also why they were there early even when they knew they would leave late. Jeremy did most of what little talking was done on the walk to the park. James wasn't planning to say anything he didn't have to say. The less said the better after that talk with Shanna last night. Sabella did her share of talking with Jeremy, but she was more interested in watching Shanna and James this morning.

       The girls had once more surprised the boys. Sabella was dressed in a long sleeved running suit. She wasn't wearing shorts to show off her legs and it was kinda baggy instead of being snug to show off her figure. Even her long blonde hair was tied up short and she had sunglasses stuck in her hair ready to pull down to hide her eyes. Shanna was almost an exact opposite. She wore shorts and a very snug tube top with a very light t-shirt pulled over it. Both of the boys had to take a long second look at her as she came down the stairs. She hadn't made the first impression that Sabella had yesterday, but she was making up for it today. She was slightly darker than even the Florida tan had made Sabella. She was well aware of the second long look the boys had given her and seemed to be quite pleased about it.

    At the park the boys did their normal morning routine. Neither of the girls had any interest in doing the sprints with them, though they did watch them.  The girls jogged around the track to get warmed up while the boys did their daily sprints. As they all switched onto the paths around the inside of the park things changed. Sabella moved over beside Jeremy and they were soon trailing behind James and Shanna who were out front together. Shanna was the one setting the pace for James. She was actually running at a pretty quick pace. It wasn't a full out run, but it was faster than the boys normally ran together. There was little time and less wind available for talk at this pace, so James was happy with it. That was mostly why Sabella and Jeremy fell back too. They seemed to be determined to talk more and that meant running a little slower. Shanna had never said anything about being a distance runner, but by the end of that first morning there was little doubt that she was.

    A new routine was established that day. The girls each seemed to enjoy the morning runs for different reasons. Shanna truly loved running and just being outside in the park. Sabella on the other hand seemed to be using the time each morning to dig for more information. She was very interested in both of the boys, but she soon developed almost as much interest in Shanna too. Jeremy seemed to enjoy her company and when he talked to James about her it was clear that he was well aware of what she was doing. He was amused by all of it. James simply watched and waited. Sabella still wasn't happy with her situation. She wasn't in control of the situation and that was clearly something she wanted to change. Shanna on the other hand seemed to be completely satisfied with things. The only thing she seemed to be truly interested in was making James red faced at every available opportunity.

    The days passed quickly for everyone. Their first full day together had been Friday. That evening things had been more relaxed at the evening meal, but Sabella had still stiffened and refused to join hands for grace. At least there had been no dispute and everyone had immediately relaxed once the prayer was finished. Saturday Susan had taken the girls out shopping after their morning run. She also informed everyone that they would all be going out that night. Mr. Blake had waited until the girls were gone and then he had insisted the boys go with him to do a little shopping of their own. He had been very firm when he suggested the boys needed to have a nicer outfit to go out in that night than either of them had packed. They both ended up with a nice dress shirt and tie to go along with the dress pants they had bought for themselves. Richard had just laughed when they wanted to pay him for the rest. He said his payment would come from the pleased look on Susan's face when they walked out wearing them that evening.

    The boys were sitting in the library, talking about what the Blake's might have planned for the night when the girls got back. There wasn't a lot of doubt that something was definitely up. Sabella was almost stomping when she came up the stairs. She had a couple of packages in her hands, but from the look on her face she was not happy at all. She stopped for just a moment to glare at both of them before heading down the hallway and slamming her door shut behind her. The boys were still sitting there in stunned silence when Shanna came running up the stairs. She stopped to look at them too, but she just frowned before going down the hallway. This time the door was shut quite easily. The boys wasted no time once they heard that last door click shut. They were out of the library and down the stairs as quickly as possible without running. Whatever was going on they wanted no part of it.

   It wasn't too long before James heard a knock on his door. He was expecting Jeremy, but he hadn't expected Shanna to be with him. Once they were all inside and seated Shanna wasted no time at all. "I need some help and you guys are both volunteering. I am afraid things may explode tonight unless we can get Sabella calmed down." James scratched his head and then asked what he knew Jeremy wanted to know too. "Exactly what happened today? Anybody could see that Sabella was upset, but what caused it? I thought you gals were just going out to shop for clothes and such." Shanna just tossed up her hands and started to pace around the room before she managed to give him an answer. Finally, she stopped with her arms folded and began to tell the story from the beginning.

    "We were going shopping and 'such' as you call it. Actually that is exactly what we did too. Everything was going perfectly. We were all talking and having a wonderful time. Then Susan made a comment about how great one of my outfits would look for church. I saw Sabella go ice cold in an instant. She managed to keep it under control and even tried to hide how upset she was, but Susan noticed eventually. She tried to explain that church was an option. They would never try to force anyone to go who didn't want to be there. Sabella put on her best smile and tried to act like it was all good, but it never was again. She did pretty well until we got back. Then she just jumped out and stomped off. Susan is crushed. I have tried to explain that she did nothing wrong. That Sabella just needs time to think it over and get adjusted. I even tried to talk with Sabella and she just got colder and colder. She is going to explode. She may be acting cold on the outside, but there is pure fury burning her up inside."

    James and Jeremy had both listened in stunned silence to the entire thing. Shanna remained standing against the wall in a corner, almost shivering with her arms folded tight up against her. After a minute James stood up and walked over to Shanna. He smiled down at her and spoke very softly. "I am not sure we can do anything about Sabella, but I’ll try. You stay here with Jeremy and I’ll go talk to her about it. Maybe if she takes it out on me she won't need to on anybody else." Turning to look at Jeremy he grinned. "If you hear a loud thud or a strangled scream I suggest you start sprinting flat out. Sabella doesn't look like the type to take prisoners and if she declares all out war over this... well run." They didn't laugh. They didn't even smile and truth be known; he wasn't sure he was joking anyway.

    He didn't give either of them a chance to say anything. He knew Shanna was right about Sabella. Unless he could find a way to get her to let this out fast, she would just explode. She had been willing to tolerate sitting quietly while Richard said grace each evening, but just the mention of actual church was way more than she would stand for. James had been thinking about this very possibility for a while. He had no idea if he could do anything to avoid an explosion, but he could at least try to deflect it. If he could take the main hit, well at least Richard and Susan would be spared the worst of the pain. They would still be hurt, but not like they would if all that rage and fury was directed straight at them.